March 31, 2017
MEDICINE HAT – After almost two years of planning and six months of transition, Alberta Health Services (AHS) has now completed the expansion of laboratory services in southeast Alberta.
In October 2014, AHS announced it had entered into a final three-year contract with Medicine Hat Diagnostic Lab (MHDL), which would see the transition of all lab collections and testing in the city and surrounding area to AHS by April 1, 2017.
The goal of consolidating lab collections and testing with AHS was to reduce costs by decreasing duplication of testing facilities and equipment, as well as to realize savings achieved through AHS’ bulk purchasing capability. Prior to the transition, laboratory services costs in Medicine Hat were higher than those in similar-sized communities in other parts of Alberta.
“The best option for laboratory services in Medicine Hat and area was for AHS to deliver those services similarly as they were offered in Lethbridge, Red Deer and Grand Prairie,” says Shelley Rawlake, Executive Director, Laboratory Services. “In the first five years of consolidating lab services in the southeast, we expect to save approximately $6.5 million.”
Another major part of the transition plan included considerations for MHDL staffing. A letter of understanding was signed between AHS and the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA). As a result, AHS recruited and hired 34 former MHDL laboratory technologists and assistants to fill needed positions in Medicine Hat and Brooks.
“We worked very hard to smooth the transition for the new staff,” says Dorothy Ward, Manager of Laboratory Services in Medicine Hat. “We set up joint AHS-MHDL change management committees to assist with the transition and to help make everyone feel part of a cohesive team.”
Under the new arrangement, starting April 1, the AHS Laboratory at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital will perform the majority of testing with the exception of highly specialized or unique tests, which will continue to be referred to Calgary Laboratory Services or Chinook Regional Hospital, as has been the past practice.
There will be two collection sites in Medicine Hat, one in the new ambulatory wing of the hospital and a second at a recently opened community collection site on Carry Drive. “The collection site on Carry Drive is a purpose-built space with some great conveniences for the public, including longer hours, greater accessibility and ample parking,” says Ward. “Most patients will not have to go to Medicine Hat Regional Hospital to have blood or other samples collected, unless they choose to do so.”
The collection site at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital will open later this spring. An opening date will be announced soon. Mobile collections for people living in continuing care sites will also continue.
Brooks and Foremost residents will continue to have blood or other samples collected at community collection sites. The Foremost collections site will continue operating in the medical clinic. A new collections site is currently under construction in Brooks, however, due to construction delays a temporary collection site will be opened in the former long term care wing of the Brooks Health Centre until the new permanent site is completed.
“We expect the new collections site on Cassil’s Road to be completed in mid-June,” says Ward. “We apologize for the inconvenience but this temporary site option allows us to have lab collections in Brooks without any interruption.”
Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.
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